Jon Katz—the New York Times bestselling author of 25 books, most recently “The Second Chance Dog: A Love Story”—discusses writing, dogs, and the new book, a memoir. He starts off addressing the sort of writing schedule and discipline that have yielded 25 Katz books in 30 years of writing. Katz also explains the decision to fashion “”The Second Chance Dog” as a memoir that’s an unvarnished account of his struggles, and those of others at the center of the book–very much warts and all. He also describes Frieda—one of three damaged souls that constitute the heart of “The Second Chance Dog,” along with Katz himself and his now-wife Maria Wulf—when he first met the dog, and the investigative journey he embarks on to learn about this highly protective, aggressive Rottweiler-shepherd mix; Maria’s dog. He elaborates on this process: He wanted to connect with and train Frieda, so that the dog could function on Katz’s farm (Bedlam Farm) with the other animals—because what he really wanted was to marry Maria. One of the pivotal moments of this tale, he recounts, is something akin to an epiphany wherein he realizes he needs to trust Frieda, and he does, a significant if not final step in the trio’s expedition of healing and blossoming love. (www.bedlamfarm.com, www.facebook.com/authorjonkatz)
COMEDY CORNER: Brian Regan’s “Dog Barking” (http://brianregan.com)
MUSIC: Rebekah Pulley’s “Talking Animals Theme,” David Dondero’s “Not Everybody Loves Your Doggies Like You Do,” instrumentals
NAME THAT ANIMAL TUNE: Little Feat’s “Dixie Chicken”
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